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In my last post, I wrote that I am able to buy a large amount of produce for just $10.

I had plenty of tomatillos that I didn’t quite know what to do with.

Well, I am not scared to experiment with my culinary skills. A quick search online showed that some people put tomatillos into chili.

It said to put the tomatillos into a pan with a bit of olive oil to soften them up. That’s about as close as I followed the recipe.

(If you have never had a straight tomatillo, like me until this past weekend, think of a granny smith apple as a tomato and you will be pretty close to the taste of one. A firm, tart tomato thingy.)

It did get my thinking of what I could do, though.

Looking in the fridge I saw some leftover corn and a little bit of red pepper. They would be added.

In the cupboard was a can of black beans that had been purchased at a reduced price of $.39 because the can was double labeled. Back in the fridge was a bag of shredded cheese and a few cooked Italian sausages from lunch the day before.

I cut off about 1/5th of the sausage and chopped it up. I used a sprinkle of cheese at the end to top it off.

My estimate of the cost of this dinner.

Ingredients from $10 veggie box:

• Corn .04
• 1/4th Red Pepper .06
• 1lb Tomatillo .16

Other ingredients:

• Black Beans .39
• Splash of Olive Oil .10
• Spices .04
• Cheese .07
• 1/5th of an Italian Sausage .14

The total cost was $1 but it ended up being two meals worth. So each meal was 50 cents AND healthy!

The beans said 110 calories per serving, with two servings in the can – no fat. Add in the rest of the ingredients and I think around 250 calories and 6-8 grams of fat is a good estimate. (Google said a tomatillo is about 11 calories and .3g fat)

I’m not saying that this was some amazing out of this world meal. It was a nice, healthy meal that just cost me very little.

If I was to change anything, I would add a bit more sausage as the tomatillo is tart and having something spicy to balance it out works well. I had a lot of tomatillos and not so much sausage. Still, I won’t mind having the rest for lunch tomorrow.

If you want to try out this recipe, here it is fast and loose.

1lb diced tomatillo and red pepper in pot with a splash of olive oil. Cook for 5 minutes on medium heat. Stir as needed.

Add corn, beans, cooked chopped sausage and spices. Cook until most of the water is evaporated.

Put in bowl, and top with a sprinkle of cheese.

You probably could make this vegan by removing the sausage/cheese and instead put in a diced hot pepper of your choice to balance the tart tomatillos.

My $10 veggie haul!What do you guys do to have cheap but healthy meals? I am always looking for new ideas to add to my frugal cooking portfolio.

Thanks for reading!